To ensure that there is no shortage of chicken meat following the battering some poultry farmers took from Hurricane Beryl, the Governmen of Jamaica t is providing a $1 billion line of credit to the larger broiler companies.
The money is being made available to the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), to on-lend to farmers at an interest rate of 7.5 per cent.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness made the announcement in the Parliament earlier this week.
“Due to increased demand for chicken being driven by tourism, the BPO sector and export into the Caribbean, it is essential that Jamaica’s production capacity increase accordingly,” Holness said.
He explained that the DBJ will make the funds available via a line of credit to on-lend to the broiler companies and/or approved farmers.
A condition of the loan is that the broiler companies must provide the DBJ with a guarantee in the event the farmers default on payment. The tenure of the loan is eight years and the maximum amount that can be accessed is 90 per cent of the project cost.
Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Floyd Green, told the country this week that poultry farmers lost some 278,000 birds. This loss is part of the overall estimated $4.7 billion in losses suffered by farmers across the country.
